


the old stars die, and the young stars burn

by bonvivants



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Camping, Gen, New Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9641807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonvivants/pseuds/bonvivants
Summary: There's a warm, damp towel over Jim's forehead when Leonard finds him lying his bed in the Captain's quarters. Judging from the slow rise and fall of his chest, it would be easy to assume that he's fast asleep, but Leonard knows him better than that. He knows all of Jim's tricks by now."How long are you planning on lying there playing dead, exactly? 'Cause I've got all night."---The crew celebrates the New Year.





	

**Author's Note:**

> another thing written for the stnetwork gift exchange, this time for zeddpool on tumblr! they asked for the aos crew celebrating holidays, and it somehow turned into a group camping trip. hope you enjoy, and happy holidays!
> 
>  
> 
> title is taken from "frozen pines" by lord huron, which i just find super fitting for this crew.

 

There's a warm, damp towel over Jim's forehead when Leonard finds him lying his bed in the Captain's quarters. Judging from the slow rise and fall of his chest, it would be easy to assume that he's fast asleep, but Leonard knows him better than that. He knows all of Jim's tricks by now. 

 

"How long are you planning on lying there playing dead, exactly? 'Cause I've got all night." 

 

"No, you don't," Jim grumbles, a hand reaching to drag the towel off his face in defeat. "You're scheduled for shore leave." 

 

"Yeah, and so are you," Leonard adds, both arms crossed over his chest, the look of a disgruntled doctor and exasperated friend. "You're not weaseling your way out of this one." 

 

Jim grimaces as he sits up, both eyes screwed shut, his usually coiffed hair sticking up in several places. If Leonard had to use one of his well-meaning colloquialisms, he'd say Jim definitely looked worse for wear. 

 

"I told you," Jim starts, one hand dragging down his face, "I'll be fine staying on the ship. I just need some shut eye, that's it. Stop worrying so much." 

 

"I'll stop worrying when you start listening to your doctor's orders," Leonard says, his voice firm and ready to dispute any argument. "Now, I'm your doctor, and I'm ordering you to report to the transporter room in an hour." 

 

Jim wrinkles his nose. "What? You can't--" 

 

"Yes, I can," Leonard interjects, raising his eyebrows. "I don't think I need to remind you that as chief medical officer, I am within my right to relieve any officer of their duties if I believe them to be medically unfit, and that includes the captain." 

 

Backed into a corner, Jim starts to babble. "Wait, hold on, you really have time to write up a whole report? C'mon--" 

 

"I thought it might come to this, so I already spoke with Commander Spock and he has agreed that--" 

 

"Alright, alright, _fine_ ," Jim sighs, clearly defeated. "No point in arguing. I'll be down soon enough." 

 

Satisfied, Leonard turns on is heel and begins heading towards the door, walking with the step of a man who just won an argument he was prepared to lose. "Try not to dawdle. Everyone's already down at the site waiting for us." 

 

Jim runs a hand through his messy hair, mostly inattentive, trying to make a mental list of things to do before beaming down. 

 

"Hold it," he says, Leonard's final words finally registering, but the doctor had already gone out the door. " _Everyone?_ " 

 

* * *

 

"Here, I'll do it." 

 

Uhura commandeers the wood and tinder before Spock really has a say, and gets to work starting the fire. Spock is left to observe as she begins to kindle the flame, little puffs of smoke rising from the makeshift fireboard and the stick she was drilling into it. 

 

"Lieutenant, I believe I am also capable of--" 

 

"Spock," Uhura interrupts, pausing to blow air at the spark of fire in the kindle. "I've no doubt you have all the technical know-how, but I'd like to get this fire going, if that's alright. The temperature's starting to drop." She smiles at him, the soft features of her face illuminated by the light of the growing flame in front of her. She covers it with more of the tinder, and continues to blow gently on it. 

 

Before Spock can even think to protest (not that he would, he's too smart for that), a distant rustling in the bushes and a pair of voices grabbing his attention. 

 

"No, see, I am telling you, Russians are _very_ adept to hiking and camping in harsh conditions. It only makes sense, given our land of origin." 

 

"You mean like _Dead Mountain_? I'd hardly call that a rousing success." 

 

Chekov huffs, indignant, nearly dropping the logs of wood in his arms. "That does not count! There were too many factors working against them. Whatever happened there is still a mystery." 

 

"So, what theory do you believe?" Sulu pushes through the bushes, careful not to knock the firewood he was holding against a tree trunk, looking over his shoulder as he waited for an answer. "Panic-inducing infrasound? Or military tests?" He grins, opening his eyes comically wide. "Or maybe, it was the _yeti_." 

 

Defeated, Chekov gives in to a pout. "You tease me too much, Mr. Sulu." 

 

"Boys," Uhura says, her voice carrying across the campsite. "Are you two playing nice?" She has yet to take her eyes off the fire, a sizable flame already burning through some tinder she tossed in.  

 

Sulu and Chekov approach the center of the campsite, each depositing the wood they had found in a mostly-neat pile in a spot near the fire, and settle down next to their companions. 

 

"Just a little friendly debate," Sulu adds, rubbing his hands and holding them close to the fire. 

 

Next to him, Chekov does the same, albeit a little despondent. "Yes. _Friendly._ " 

 

Uhura flashes both of them a smile, taking a small stick and poking at the kindle to keep it burning. "Looks like we're just missing the other half of the group." She turns to Spock, who until then had been peacefully huddling in the large padded coat he'd thrown over his shoulders at some point, hands tucked between his arms . "Any idea when they might be coming?" 

 

Spock looks like he's been caught off guard, which is a rare sight in itself. When he finally recovers, he straightens his back as he sits up on the log bench, and turns to face Uhura to answer. "I believe Dr. McCoy is currently dealing with the captain, and Mr. Scott is handing off his duties to the engineering room." 

 

"Hm." Uhura purses her lips as she considers how long they might be kept waiting, then turns back to the other two. "So, you guys have any stories to tell around the campfire?" 

 

Chekov immediately perks up, practically shooting up out of his seat. Next to him, Sulu gives a good-natured roll of his eyes, a slight smile on his lips--there's no malice there, but rather the look of a man who has heard plenty renditions of whatever stories the other had prepared. 

 

Unbothered (and unaware), Chekov hunches over the fire, prepared to jump into his story. "There was a time, in old Soviet Russia--" 

 

Whatever grand tale he had in store is interrupted by a very sudden and bright flash of light not a few yards away, their view obscured by the trees, but there's no mistaking what that was. The quiet bantering of two voices also give it away. 

 

"I told you, it'll get colder, so just put on--"

 

"Bones, Bones, Bones, _I'm fine_ , it's not even that--" 

 

"Hey!" Uhura calls out from her spot, "we're over here." 

 

The bickering stops just as Jim and Leonard emerge from the bushes, both looking just a bit crabby, but all of that melts away when they spot the growing fire. 

 

"You got it started already?" As he approaches the campsite, Leonard unloads the backpack carrying the last of their equipment, careful as it clanks loudly with cooking pots and pans. "Guess that takes care of that." 

 

"We got on just fine without you," Uhura shoots back, a grin that might come across as a little smug on her lips. She continues to poke at the fire, as if to emphasize her point. She shifts her stare over to Jim, who hunkers down on the log next to them, mostly ignoring the exchange. "Glad you could join us." 

 

Jim, who until that moment seemed slightly occupied by the growing fire, tears his eyes away, slightly caught off guard, and gives a shrug. "I can't say I had much of a choice in the matter." 

 

"Oh, cry me a river," Leonard says as he reemerges from one of the tents to join then. "You know you like camping, and _I_ know you like camping. You just hate the idea of doing one good thing for yourself. Admit it." 

 

Chekov, who until that moment had been quietly watching the exchange, pipes in. "It has been a while since you're last leave, Captain." Next to him, Sulu nods solemnly. 

 

Jim turns, his arms crossed over his chest, visibly scandalized. "My own crew! All turning against me. This is _mutiny_." 

 

"Captain, if I may." From his self made cocoon of jackets, Spock speaks up. "I believe Dr. McCoy had other motives for gathering us all here today, something which requires your presence." 

 

Leonard finally sits himself down on the log next to Jim, a smaller duffel bag gently placed down next to his foot, although it remains untouched. "You're damn right I do, but I can't do anything till the rest of our party joins." He cranes his neck to look back, his whole body turning with it. "What's taking so long, anyway?" 

 

As if on cue, the bright, blinding light flashes once more, the trees casting odd shadows on the campsite, only for it to fade within seconds. 

 

Uhura smiles. "Looks like the gang's all here." 

 

There's more rustling in the bushes, and then a familiar face. "Hello!" Scotty calls out, waving as he steps over loose twigs. "Sorry we're late," he says, jerking a thumb at Keenser who emerges not a second later, "I had to get this one a--well, that doesn't matter, we're here and that's that." 

 

The group greets them with scattered hello's, quiet murmurs over the crackling of the campfire. Small conversations start among them, everyone catching up after a few particularly strenuous last few weeks out in space. 

 

Once everyone looks settled in, Leonard clears his throat. "Now, if I could just have you're attention..." 

 

The noise dies down, and everyone turns to look at him. Jim especially looks interested in what he's about to say. 

 

"Great." Leonard smooths his hands down his thighs. "Well, as you all know, out here it's difficult to keep up with holidays, especially when time just doesn't seem to have a place out here." He leans down to unzip the bag by his foot, and at the same time, everyone leans in with him, curious as to what might be hidden inside. After some rummaging around, Leonard seems to find it. "I see no reason why we can't celebrate on our own terms." 

 

Out he pulls out a bottle of champagne and sets it on the ground, followed by several cheap plastic flutes. Everyone's eyes sparkle with wonder. Sulu whistles. 

 

"You brought us all the way out here to drink booze?" Jim raises an eyebrow, amused. "Bones. You shouldn't have." 

 

Next to him, Leonard rolls his eyes, and gets to popping the cork of the bottle off. "Yeah, yeah, save it. We're not just out here to get drunk, although I definitely didn't bring enough for that." 

 

"I think it's nice," Uhura says, leaning forward slightly to get a good look. "It's been a while since we've really celebrated anything. Much less together." 

 

"She's got a point," Scotty adds, hands on his knees. "Not that I mind, of course. Feels nice to get away every now and then." 

 

The cork finally pops out of the bottle, causing some commotion, but Leonard immediately gets to filling up the champagne flutes and passing them all around. "If y'all will just wait, I can explain why I brought us all out here." He fills up the last flute--his own--and sets the bottle down. 

 

"Like I said, it's hard to keep track of time out here." He glances around the campfire at all the faces looking straight at him. "But I got a letter from Joanna recently telling me it's about that time that people back on Earth are celebrating the new year." He raises his glass in what looked like a halfhearted attempt at a toast. "So, I thought we'd all come out here and have a little celebration of our own." 

 

There's a moment of silence among them, everyone glancing at the other, until Sulu raises his glass to join Leonard's. "A toast, then." 

 

Jim follows next, all of the reluctance that he had for this trip in the first place melted away, chest swelled up with pride. "To the _Enterprise_." 

 

"And to her crew," Uhura adds, raising her own flute while gently nudging Spock to do the same. He follows suit. 

 

"Well, I'm glad you all could make it," Bones says, his eyes pointedly directed at Jim, who's still beaming with pride. 

 

"Yeah," Jim agrees. "Me too." 

 

 

 


End file.
